Best NYC Coding Bootcamps

Sarah Miller

2015/10/13

They say New York City is the city that never sleeps, but we’re thinking of petitioning to rename it the city that never stops coding.

We know it can be hard to keep track sometimes, so we’ve decided to round up the best coding bootcamps in New York City. The information below should give a good idea of what to expect at each school and help you as you research and decide which coding bootcamp is right for you.

Sure you'll need to know about the technical skills of your new-found career path, but what about the cultural skills? Startup Institute prides itself on being able to teach both sets of skills during the eight-week, full-time immersive bootcamp. They work with the very companies graduates want to work for to design the curriculum, which is offered in four tracks: web design, technical marketing, sales and account management, and web development. The school features hackathons, group projects and soft skill workshops that bring all the tracks together as well as one-on-one personalized career mentorship.

Review: “This course will definitely make a big impression on your life. I found myself completely immersed in an enjoyably intense learning experience that was led by a staff of inspirational human beings that made me really think about the work and behavioral aspects of my life.”

App Academy describes itself as an immersive, full-time, web development and job placement program. That's quite a mouthful, but it shows how serious they are about teaching you the skills and getting you that job. In 12 weeks, students can expect to learn how to build web applications with Ruby on Rails, Javascript and Backbone through hands-on projects and more.
And we weren't kidding about them being serious about finding you a job when you're finished: 98% of their graduates either have job offers or are working in tech at an average salary of $89,000 in New York ($105,000 in San Francisco)!

Review: “I had a great experience at AA - I learned more in just the first month than I had on my own in a year, and I had no prior programming experience other than dabbling with online tutorials. I can confidently say that attending AA has changed my life.”

Consider Dev Bootcamp the pioneer of short-term, immersive web development bootcamps. We have them to thank for the movement that has changed lives all around the world! Their 19-week program -- which includes 9 weeks of part-time remote work, 9 weeks of on-campus immersive work and one week of optional career preparation -- teaches ruby, Javascript, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript libraries, SQL, HTML, CSS, pair programming, and agile and test driven development. To date, Dev Bootcamp has more than 1,000 graduates!

Review: “The amount of new knowledge I came away with was staggering, but more importantly, my ability to pick up new skills was also dramatically improved. It was a significant investment of both time and money, but I definitely think it was worth it.”

According to Fullstack Academy, the difference between amateur and professional is only 13 weeks. The curriculum is all about fullstack JavaScript because they not only believe it's here to stay but that it is constantly and consistently growing. They're also keen on making sure every student starts on the same foot. That's why they offer a part-time, remote pre-course called Fullstack Foundations. The pre-course features an instructor, projects and tutoring sessions and solidifies core programming concepts before the Academy starts. Fullstack Academy's graduate hiring rate is 97%.

Review: “Having attended Fullstack's second cohort, 5 months later I couldn't be happier with my decision. Fullstack provided me with all the tools and experience I needed to change fields and quickly find a job that I love.”

When The Flatiron School says they're looking for students with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, they mean it. The diversity in their students' previous jobs is no joke: investment bankers, cartoonists, sky-diving instructors are among the backgrounds. But the passion for technology is what brings everyone together. Their web and IOS immersive courses last 12 week and train individuals for careers in software development. Graduates have gone on to major companies like Google, Etsy and The New York Times. They have two campuses -- one in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn -- and they also offer part-time courses, corporate trainings and a pre-college program for high school students.

Review: “They take you from 0 (and I really mean no coding experience whatsoever) to equipped to land your first Junior Developer position in three months. They have excellent post-grad job placement support in that they both prepare you a great deal for the interview process and have a large network of hiring partners within the New York area.”

General Assembly began in New York City in 2011 as an innovative community for local entrepreneurs and start-up companies. Since then, they’ve been offering full-time immersive programs, long-form courses, classes and workshops on just about everything: Web development, user experience design, business fundamentals, data science and more. Their full-time courses last between eight and 12 weeks (depending on the course), and you’ll be sure to get the attention you need during your time there since there aren’t any classes with more than 25 students.

Review: “My experience at General Assembly's Web Development Immersive was life-changing. After I got laid-off from my job teaching public school last year, I decided to take a leap and pursue my interest in computer programming. …[T]hey are a well-established organization with a well-developed curriculum, teacher-support, and a great track record of graduates finding work in the field.”

Whether you’re looking to learn coding or update and improve your coding skills, New York Code and Design Academy has a spot for you. The school has hands-on, intensive workshops on web and mobile app development for both beginning and established developers. A comprehensive curriculum means you’re taking in a lot of information, so NYCDA makes it easy for students to catch up and revisit lectures, stay in constant contact with classmates and instructors, and access the resources needed to succeed.

Review: “Joining the New York Code and Design Academy was one of the best decisions I ever made. I learned more in 16 weeks than I ever thought possible. ... My experience at NYCDA has helped me build a strong foundation for coding and given me the opportunity to meet and build strong relationships with other, like-minded coders.”

Make School, which has dubbed itself “The college replacement for founders and developers,” just branched out from San Francisco to include a cohort in New York City in the summer of 2015. During their time at the Summer Academy, students will build and ship apps and games and spark a successful career in tech. The Summer Academy sessions, which are shorter (around 8 weeks) than the typical session (2 years), are designed for high school and college students.

Review: “Had a good time there last summer - good community and instructors.”

Years ago, Byte Consulting Inc., a research, analytics, and technology consulting firm based in New York City, found that there was a shortage of qualified programmers in the both the tech and finance industries. So they sought to correct the problem by opening a code school: Byte Academy. It’s a 12-week, full-time bootcamp that transforms students into financial tech (FinTech) programmers. With extensive experience in the financial world, the school has the connections and relationships that will help students land the jobs they want.

Review: “It amazes me that more people aren't aware about this great bootcamp - it is the only one in NYC that offers Python. And, maybe in part to its small size, the school is soo organized. No student gets lost here and it really feels like a community.”

If you're looking for Hacker School, you're in the right place: Hacker School is now Recurse Center. It's a self-paced, self-directed, 12-week educational retreat. Oh and did we mention it's free? (We may have buried the lede there.) It's unstructured, project-based and for individuals in nearly every walk of their coding journey -- beginners and experts alike. Recurse Center is for any self-motivated person who wants to grow. They also offer need-based living-expense grants (up to $7,000) for women and groups traditionally underrepresented in programming.

Shillington School is a wannabe graphic designer’s door to a new and exciting creative career. The school teaches creative design in 3 months (full-time) or 9 months (part time). By the end of the session, graduates can expect to be fully prepared for a graphic design position with a portfolio chock full of quality work. Students don’t need experience in graphic design to attend, just a thirst for creativity!

Review: “Overall, Shillington is an amazing design program but I would caveat that it really is what you put into it. If you enter the program with the goal of learning design and creating a great portfolio then you will definitely succeed at that.”

After 12 weeks of the intensive, in-person data science bootcamp, Metis grads should expect to be fully qualified for an entry-level data scientist position. At the New York City bootcamp, students will receive 100% in-person instruction with experts from Datascope Analytics as well as career coaching during and after the course and job placement support upon completion. All applicants are expected to have some previous experience in programming and statistics. By the end of the course, students will be capable coding in Python and at the command line, understand data science tools and applications, know the fundamentals of data visualization; have introductory exposure to modern big data tools; and more.

Review: “The dedication of Metis' management, administrative, teaching and talent placement staff towards the career development and well being of the students/alumni never fails to amaze me. They deserve an A+ for their efforts in all aspects of program. I cannot think of any cons for the students who are determined to make the most of their boot camp experience.”

The intensive, 7-week fellowship touts itself as the bridge to a career in data engineering. It takes place in New York City and Silicon Valley and is open to anyone with a strong background in math, computer science and software engineering fundamentals. They also seek fellows who come from positions in the industry or directly from degree programs (bachelor’s, master’s and PhD). In the program, students will be able to participate in project-based learning and work with top industry mentors.

The Data Incubator is an intensive fellowship that seeks to transform scientists and engineers into data scientists and quants. The fellowship is seven weeks long and includes training in technical skills, like software engineering, statistics, data visualization, databases and parallelization, and soft skills like communication techniques and networking. It also provides mentorship opportunities, employer-paid scholarships and access to innovative employers.